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Sports Oakville Beaver Local athletes, teams, coaches and volunteers were recognized for their contributions to Oakville sports last weekend at Town Hall. The Oakville Sports Council presented its first annual Sport Recognition Awards Saturday, honouring both individuals and groups for their excellence, perseverance and dedication in the areas of sports development, performance and contribution to the community between May 2007 and April 2008. Oakville native Martha Deacon, a longtime Badminton Canada official who served as transportation/logistics officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee during this year's Summer Games in Beijing, was the guest speaker at the event. Oakville Sports Hall of Famer Wayne Hussey, currently the general manager of the Oakville Gymnastics Club, emceed the awards. Local kayaker Adam van Koeverden, who won silver in the 500-metre singles event in Beijing, was presented with a special award to conclude the ceremony. Following are brief bios of this year's other award winners: Halton Field Hockey Club Volunteer Award As director of youth programs and coach of the under-14 competitive team, Sara Kozak helped the Halton Field Hockey Club's U14 house league to its highest participation level in five years. She has implemented a Junior Coaches in Training program, allowing high school students to train as community coaches and assist adult team coaches. She also introduced a competitive team that won bronze at an invitational club indoor tournament in December. Halton Field Hockey Club is now the largest field hockey club in Ontario. SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2008 37 Town's top athletes, volunteers recognized by sport council club, Yaremczuk has helped many swimmers achieve key accomplishments, such as advancing to Olympic trials or winning provincial and national medals. In addition to her role with OAK, she has also held the role of president of the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association for several years and was head coach for the 2005 provincial team and the Canada Games. She is retiring from her position with OAK to spend more time with her husband and their twin twoyear-old boys. Oakville Basketball Club Team Award Rebounding from a difficult 2006-07 campaign, the Oakville Venom bantam girls' team dominated its competition last season. The Venom won most of the tournaments they entered, including the provincial and Eastern Canadian championships. Members of the club, coached by Pat Traynor and Caassandra Cyrus, are Kayla Davis, Leah Fleming, Rahseka Gunn, Sarah Traynor, Emily Wilk, Jovana Momic, Alex Ruscica, Nina Guzina, Courtney Den Elzen and Rachelle Cyrus. Coach Award On top of being the head coach and general manager of the Oakville Basketball Club, Toney McNeil also coaches the atom AAA girls' and bantam AAA boys' rep squads. A coach with 15-plus years experience, McNeil inspires his players with his knowledge, experience and love for the game. He has also done everything in his power to ensure the game is accessible to all children who wish to participate, providing youngsters with the opportunity to learn the sport in a safe and fun environment. Volunteer Award Judith Ambrose's efforts behind the scenes MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER ensure the Oakville Basketball Club continues to run smoothly. The club administrator is known TOP-NOTCH COACH: Christy Yaremczuk accepts the Oakville Aquatic Club's Coach Award for her computer talents, producing well-main- from Oakville mayor Rob Burton during the Oakville Sports Council's first annual Sport Recognition tained graphs, charts and tables, as well as her hard work and tireless efforts. Her 4:30 a.m. e- Awards Saturday at Town Hall. mails are proof of her dedication to the task. Minor Oaks Hockey Association Volunteer Award Despite never having had children participate in the Minor Oaks Hockey Association, Jock Dunbar has been involved with the association for nearly 40 years. During that time, he has served in such positions as president, vice president, scheduler, convener, discipline chair, equipment manager, coach (both rep and house league), manager and trainer. Dunbar is best known for his many years of coaching peewee house league, where he would supply his team with extra sweaters, socks and jackets. Following his retirement, he worked for Corbett's Wholesale in Oakville, where he would use contacts with suppliers to obtain equipment for children in need. Oakville Girls Softball Association Team Award Simply put, the Oakville Angels Bantam III team is one of the most successful squads in Oakville Girls Softball Association (OSGA) history. The Angels became the OGSA club to win a national gold medal, going undefeated at the Eastern Canadian championships in Nova Scotia. The club won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in tournament play. Members of the team are Nicole Cerpnjak, Morgan Collin, Kayla Forbes, Natalie Gingerich, Lauren Goacher, Brittany Hole, Nerissa Kinsman, Lauren Lyttle, Michelle Marchiony, Laura McVey and Jennifer Rossetti. Mark Collin and Johanna Malisani coach the Angels, Janice McVey is the manager and Frank Cerpnjak is the team's scorekeeper. Oakville Gymnastics Club Individual Award Winning provincial and national titles is one thing, successfully defending both is another. Cory Paterson managed the feat in boys' artistic gymnastics last year, however. Paterson has been identified as a national team prospect. Oakville Hornets Girls Hockey Association Team Award In addition to finishing first in regular-season league play, the Oakville atom AA Hornets won the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League playoff title and then claimed gold at the Ontario Women's Hockey Association provincial championships. The Hornets won five of seven tournaments they entered (earning silver in the other two), and became the first Hornets squad to win a prestigious Silver Stick title. Members of the club are Olivia Atkinson, Breeann Gallagher, Taylor McMahon, Kaitlyn Norris, Nikki Cece, Jessica Geddes, Claire Merrick, Kristin O'Neill, Laura Crowdis, Jacinta Kennedy, Cassidy Miller, Emily Schnarr, Madison Field, Kaitlyn McAllister, Chloe Morrison and Mackenzie Stamper. Lou Merrick coaches the team, assisted by Chris Stamper, Neil Morrison and Gary McLellan. Grace Norris is the manager and Trish O'Neill and Barb McMahon are the trainers. Coach Award Greg Jackson has coached Cory Paterson to those provincial and national championships, and has had five athletes qualify for the Canadian championships. Jackson's efforts have established the Oakville Gymnastics Club as a premier men's program and a high-performance training centre for men's artistic gymnastics. In addition to his coaching skills, Jackson is also a Bevet judge -- the highest-level judge in men's artistic gymnastics. Volunteer Award As chairman of the Oakville Gymnastics Club's board of directors, Allister Paterson has changed the club's bylaws to reflect how the board handles policy and has ensured that professional staff runs the club. He has implemented a strategy for staff retention, ensuring there is consistency in program delivery, and has actively sought to increase the club's membership. Paterson is also a volunteer board member of Gymnastics Canada. Oakville Aquatic Club Coach Award Under the leadership of Christy Yaremczuk, the Oakville Aquatic Club (OAK) has tripled in size over the past eight years. She has fostered a learnto-swim program as well as a development program, has increased age-group membership, developed a high performance program and helped build a stronger relationship with the Oakville community. During her time with the Coach Award Jim Cosman's commitment to OGSA house league players runs year-round. Over the past 15 years, Cosman has worked with hundreds of girls through both summer drills and off-season winter training clinics. Many of those players have gone on to play softball at the rep level. He teaches skills with a caring attitude and technical competence, encouraging players to be the best they can be as well as to have fun playing the game. Coach Award Kevin McAllister, a long-time coach and assistant coach of house league and select teams, is a mentor both to his players and to other coaches in the Hornets organization. His dedication, knowledge and enthusiasm are highly regarded, and he is See Sport page 38 905-845-6989 www.icesports.com